Consequences
by bionic4ever
Summary: Ex2: Oscar and Jaime have chosen to reveal themselves as a couple. Will there be consequences, and who will pay them?
1. Chapter 1

**Consequences**

Chapter One - OSI Director's Office-8am

"Good morning, Sir!" Peggy Callahan said brightly as she heard the door behind her open. Oscar was right on time, as always. No surprises from him; the man was steadfast.

On this day, though, she was in for not just a surprise but a massive shock as well. Oscar "By-the-Book" Goldman was wearing dress pants, a dress shirt, and **no jacket or tie**! Standing next to him, as close as she could get without actually being joined at the hip: Jaime Sommers. They had an arm around each other; not around the shoulder, like comrades or co-workers, but tightly around the waist like...lovers?

Sure, Peggy had heard the rumors. Everyone had; there'd been talk floating through the agency for years. People said he had long ago lost his impartiality toward Jaime, and that much was probably true. The general concensus now was that Oscar was far too involved with Jaime emotionally, which would definitely be bad since it would give the OSI director a weak spot to potentially be used against him. Peggy, ever loyal to her boss, discounted the talk as idle gossip. Now the proof was standing directly in front of her, and she didn't know what to say.

"Hi, Jaime." There; that was a start.

"Good morning," Jaime answered. She and Oscar continued on into Oscar's office.

"No calls for now," Oscar instructed.

"Yes, Sir."

The two of them sat together on the office sofa instead of Oscar at his desk and Jaime in the subordinate's chair. "I should just go ahead and resign right now."

"No way! Babe, you're too good - this agency needs you."

"Well, it needs you more, and you've put so many more years into this -"

"That won't even be a consideration. if the Secretary decides to go out for blood, it won't be yours he'll be after. As the one in charge I'm the one at fault. He - and the President - would hold me solely responsible."

Oscar slipped his arms around Jaime and pulled her closer until she was almost in his lap. "Honey, don't look so stricken." His lips brushed hers and then traced a soft, sensual path path from the sensitive hollow at the base of her neck, up and around to nibble at her ear, and down to the nape. Jaime felt herself nearly swooning at his touch.

"You know what?" Oscar whispered. "No matter what they do to me, you are worth it."

"Oscar -"

"Sh-h-h," he said softly, silencing her with a kiss. He knew it would only be a matter of days before they'd find out. Oscar had never felt this deliriously happy, and hiding it just seemed wrong, so he'd made sure he and Jaime shared a long, very visible kiss by the reflection pool outside OSI headquarters that morning. This was too special, too perfect, to hide from the world.

"I love you, Oscar," Jaime protested, "But I don't want to be the cause of your losing everything..."

Oscar reached up and tenderly caressed her face. "I love you, too, Babe - so much that, as long as I have you -"

"Which is guaranteed -"

"Then it doesn't matter what they take from me; I'll still have the only part of my life that truly matters." The hand that had been on her cheek moved to the back of her head and, as his tongue searched for the back of her throat, the hand held her there, passionately and insistently. His other hand, at the small of her back, pulled her still closer until their bodies moved seductively against each other.

They were interrupted by the demanding buzz of the intercom. They separately reluctantly, knowing that if he didn't answer, Callahan would soon be knocking on the door.

"Yes, Peggy," he said into the speaker.

"I'm sorry, Sir. I know you said No Calls, but it's the Secretary, and he is **not** in a good mood."

"Ok. Thank you." he turned to Jaime. "This is it." She moved to his side and put her arm around him to give him strength; not that he needed it. Oscar had brought this to a head himself, on purpose, and he was ready to handle it.

"Good morning, Mr. Secretary!" he said, smiling at Jaime to try and reassure her. "Yes, Sir, I was...Yes, that's right...I am well aware of that, Sir...Right...Ok, I understand. Yes Sir, she's right here. Alright; I'll tell her." He hung up the phone. Jaime mover closer, bracing herself. "Ok - it's done." he told her.

She winced on his behalf. "How bad...?"

"Actually, better tyhan I'd expected. He's giving me until 5pm to put in for retirement - not resignation - and if I don't, then he'll do what he has to do."

"So you'd still get your pension."

"Not that I need it. All I'll ever need is right here in my arms."

Jaime kissed him. "And what was it you were supposed to tell me?"

"Apparently, he already has my replacement up and ready to go."

"Damn - that was quick!"

Oscar held her almost protectively. Now he looked worried. "Babe...you've got a meeting with the new boss at 10am tomorrow."

Oscar's Bedroom - 11:30pm

Jaime and Oscar snuggled contentedly in the huge bed. He had applied for retirement and left the building quietly before 2pm, and he and Jaime had dressed to the nines and gone out for an elaborate dinner to celebrate. They had then returned to Oscar's house, to his bed, to celebrate some more.

Oscar let his fingertips roam lightly over Jaime's bare skin, giving her goosebumps. "I should've retired years ago," he told her. "I just never had a good enough reason before." He pulled her close once again. "Tired?" he whispered with a smile.

"You seem to forget something," she said, running her hands across his broad, muscular chest. "Bionics give me almost unlimited energy!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two - OSI Director's Office-next day-10am

Jaime opened the door to the outer office tentatively and peered inside. Callahan was still at her desk; the entire world hadn't turned upside down - yet.

"Hi, Jaime," Callahan said quietly. She buzzed the boss's intercom.

"Yes?" came a voice that, spite of the tinny, electronic tone, sounded very familiar to Jaime.

"Your 10am is here, Sir."

"Ok - tell her to come in."

Jaime tried to fake a smile to Callahan as she cautiously turned the knob. When the door opened, Jaime's smile disappeared and she froze in her tracks.

"**Steve**?"

He was even more shocked than she was. He'd been told the situation but not the woman's identity. Steve struggled to maintain his professionalism and objectivity. He hadn't seen Jaime in years, except for a few brief missions together, but this was tough to take in, to accept. On the other hand, there had always been signs: the lingering glances between her and Oscar, a touch, a smile. It was Steve's first day in his new job - the career of a lifetime, for him - and he was already being sorely tested. This was not the Jaime he'd grown up with, or the woman he'd loved so deeply (still did, if he was honest with himself) and had nearly married. This was a woman with her career and her future on the line, and the decision had been placed solely in his hands.

He stood to acknowledge her. "Thank you for coming," he said, motioning to the chair in front of the desk. "Sit down, and we'll talk. Coffee?"

"No thanks." They both sat down and their eyes met briefly as they tried to settle into brand-new roles.

_My God, she's terrified,_ Steve thought to himself. He was first to speak. "Jaime, I'm not here to pin a scarlett letter on your chest, but I do have to find out what happened so I can make a decision that's right for the agency and fair to you." Jaime nodded, and Steve continued. "Do you have any objection to my recording this for the official record?"

"No, that's fine."

Steve found he now had two voices; the inner one that loved this woman: _He's twice your age and your boss! Jaime, what the hell are you thinking? _And there was the outer voice, assigned to interrogate her. "Jaime, did you have a sexual relationship with Oscar Goldman."

"Yes," she answered, her voice steady and calm. "I still do."

"When did this start?" _We could've been so good together, Jaime..._

"A week ago. The day I stole a set of OSI blueprints back for him."

"Who initiated the first sexual contact?" _Please say he did; things will go so much easier..._

"No one," she answered.

"Excuse me?"

"We both did. It just...happened."

"So you're saying you were both equally at fault?"  
Jaime shook her head vehemently. "There was no one at fault Steve - I mean, Colonel -"

"Steve is fine."

"It wasn't anyone's fault, Colonel," she said. "We love each other, and we finally decided to express that."

_You don't know what love is, Jaime, or you'd never have left me. _"You realize, of course, that you've just admitted to several violations of the OSI's code of conduct."

"Then I guess you and I violated that code too, huh?" she said defiantly.

"That was a totally different situation! I'm not - I mean, I wasn't - your boss!"

"You still aren't, Colonel. I quit."

Steve turned off the tape recorder. "You probably want to re-think that. You could still be sent to the Island." Jaime was silent. "Without Oscar. And that would be for the rest of your life, for your own safety."

"You want me to stay on so you can fire me, right?"

"Wrong." _I'd like to shake you until you come to your senses. _"You're too valuable to lose, Jaime. Yes, you'll probably be disciplined, but we certainly don't want you to leave. I have to write up my report and make my recommendation to the Secretary, and I'll get back to you in a couple of days. Ok?"

"Alright," Jaime said. "Are we done here?"

"Yes. I'll call you when the decision is finalized."

"Thank you, Colonel."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three - Oscar's house-11:30am

"How bad was it, Babe?" Oscar asked, meeting her at the door.

"You are not going to believe this," she told him as the moved toward the sofa. "Your replacement - it's Steve."

"Well, that couldn't have been a pleasant conversation."

"Actually," she said, "It wasn't too bad. He was very...civil."

"And what happened?"

"Nothing yet. Not for a day or two. He said I will probably be disciplined somehow, didn't say how, but I'm not fired. I told him I quit."

"Babe," Oscar said gently, "You can't do that. You're way too good, and you love it so much -"

"No, I love you. And after the way they treated you -"

"Which I deserved and I'm ok with," Oscar said quietly.

"Anyway, let's just say my feelings toward that place aren't as warm as they used to be."

Oscar held her very close and gazed into her eyes. "And your feelings toward me...still warm?"

"Nope...blazing hot." The short distance between them closed into a deep, passionate kiss. Clothes seemed to unbutton themselves and Oscar lifted Jaime up in his arms and carried her into the bedroom. He laid her gently in the center of the bed, stretched out next to her, and the day's troubles melted away.

OSI Director's Office-2 days later-9am

Steve paced back and forth across the floor of his new office. He'd rehearsed what he was going to say - what he had to say - but now that she was seated in front of him, waiting to hear her fate, it was so much harder than he'd expected.

"The Secretary wanted me to fire you." Jaime nodded wordlessly. "But this is solely my decision; I want you to know that."

"Ok..."

"If I let you off with a warning or a simple reprimand, I'll be accused of favoritism and you'll probably have a very unpleasant meeting with the Secretary -"

"Steve...Colonel - I'm as much at fault as Oscar. If he had consequences, then I should too."

"In the eyes of the agency, the fault is entirely his. But you made a grievous error in judgement and showed a severe lack of ethics and common sense. And you're right; there are consequences. There have to be." He looked out the window, his back to Jaime, as he prepared himself. Inwardly, his heart was breaking twofold. First, she had chosen someone else and not him; and second, he'd cut off his good flesh-and-blood arm to not be in this position.

Jaime sat quietly and waited. She was ready.

"Jaime, I'm going to give you two choices," he told her. "I will either suspend you for six months, without pay, and a permanent reprimand in your file..."

"Or..." she prompted, wanting to get it over with.

"Or - I will accept your resignation, with the stipulation that you not be sent to the Island, on the grounds that, because of your bionics, you are unusually capable of keeping yourself out of danger."

"Ok, then I'll -"

"I'm not done. With either choice, you would still see Rudy twice a year. If you were to leave the agency, you'd have to see him at his Colorado complex and not at a government facility, but either way it would still be at government expense, of course." He took a deep breath and then continued. "Jaime, I want you to take 24 hours to really think about this before you give me a decision."

"Thank you," she replied. "But that's not necessary." She reached into her coat pocket, removed an envelope and handed it to Steve. "It's my resignation."

"Jaime -"

"Uh-uh. It's my turn now, Colonel. Oh - I guess it's Steve again, now that I no longer work for you. I can't in good conscience work for an agency that could punish two people for falling in love, no matter who they are."

"I'm really sorry to hear that."

"Anyway, I do appreciate your keeping me off the Island. Thank you for that. I do have to go now - someone's waiting for me."

"Oscar?" Steve asked, trying not to sound jealous.

"I no longer have to answer that. Goodbye, Steve."

Steve turned again to the window, unable to answer. He saw her as she walked down the sidewalk, past the reflecting pool and to the curb. His bionic eye zeroed in as she got into Oscar's car, so he saw the embrace, saw the kiss that seemed to go on forever, and saw the happiness that lit both of their faces.

_Oscar, old buddy, I just hope you realize how truly lucky you are._

END


End file.
